The archbishop of Paris, Michel Aupetit, has an atypical past. Grandson of anticlerical grandparents, although he accompanied his mother to mass (his father, a railroad, did not go) was never a boy scout , an altar boy, nor went to a religious school. Born in Versailles in 1951, he studied medicine and practiced until he was ordained a priest at 44 . In two decades he has traveled the entire ranks until in December 2017, Pope Francis appointed him Archbishop of Paris.

At 8.30 a cold morning, have breakfast with a group of foreign correspondents. In his official residence, a legacy palace with high ceilings and mirrors above the chimneys. Ancient, worthy, decadent . Overlooking an autumnal garden.

How much will it cost, in time and money, to restore Notre-Dame? Until June we will not be able to say it. We are in the diagnostic phase. The stones were subjected to temperatures close to one thousand degrees and sprinkled with water. You have to know how many you have to change. The 500-ton scaffold melted. It is going to build another one from which the ones in charge of cutting it to pieces will slide. We have already spent 35 million. The cathedral will be remade identical. There are detailed plans for restoration so it can be redone. We will not put lead again. President Macron proposed "a contemporary gesture" ... On the arrow and only on the arrow. I want to enter the cathedral to celebrate Mass. Is it against a modern arrow? I am not against anything. I am in favor of the identical reconstruction, but I will not celebrate the Eucharist under the arrow. What interests me is the cathedral. I will pay attention to the symbolic gesture of the arrow but I am not attached to the exact identity of what Viollet-le-Duc did in the 19th century. If it is not identical but dignified and respectful, I am not a priori against it. Will we have to pay to enter Notre-Dame? Will be an error. A church is a free site. Those who believe and those who do not, the poor and thieves can enter. I do not agree to charge as in the cathedral of Florence. There is no reason for those who pray and what they are not separated. When I arrived at Notre-Dame I wondered what to do with the more than 2,000 people who pray with me. People know that something is happening and respect the place. And at specific times, such as consecration, they stop. I asked the president why Notre-Dame has more visits than the Louvre ... Because it is a living place. And it is we who make it live. We have to recover that as soon as we rebuild the cathedral. It will be a place of worship again. And we will put aside all those delusions on the roof, that is an architect's ghosts. The French Government, to which the cathedral belongs, does not feel like doing such experiments. Have there been donors who have backed out? Notre-Dame will be rebuilt with donations from patrons, but everything is not donated at once, They won't make us a 200 million check, that would be ridiculous. Everyone who promised to make a donation has made it. Have lead levels delayed the works? Workers are taken a blood sample every week. These tests have not revealed any lead rates that are pathological. The Labor Inspection may have been a bit demanding but it is its role. When will Notre-Dame reopen? When there is security. I will not wait for the arrow to be finished. I don't even need the entire cathedral. But yes a part. It is important for our faithful, it gives them hope. Christmas? No, it is not reasonable. Has secularism cornered religion? Secularity in principle was that each one should practice his religion and not put impediments to religion. It can be practiced in public on condition that it does not generate public order problems. Young people who return to the Church are not like their parents, because society is not the same. It is a hard society, by individualist. Ecology allows young people to understand that there is a collective responsibility. Do you have an opinion about the controversy of the veil of schoolchildren? Muslims believe that secularism in France prohibits talking about God. And that's why they bring their children to Catholic schools. When one is a minority, self-assertion goes through external signs. The Muslims of before were no less Muslim than those of now and did not wear a scarf. We also see it in our young priests, who wear cassocks. It is always a sign of fragility. A sign is shown because you need to express your identity. Is there Islamophobia in French society? When I was a priest in Nanterre I used to go to the mosque and the imams told me: we have lost young people. Political Islam is a nebula. There are many Muslims integrated into French society, and there are those who reject it because they feel excluded. These neighborhood youths seek their identity in the extremes. There are two ways to find self-esteem: harden in an identity like Islam or give them the tools to be able to do things.In 2018 the Ministry of Interior censored more than a thousand anti-Christian actions in France. Why is this so little talked about? They recently desecrated a tabernacle in Montmartre. It was a satanic act. They were looking for the hosts. It is not vandalism, it is a case of desecration. We cannot fall into vicitimization and hide in small groups that defend themselves in a fortress. We will continue exposing ourselves, opening the churches, knowing that we are at risk. Is the Church heard when it speaks of bioethics? The word is not as free as it is said in France. If one thinks differently, it is labeled as reactionary, homophobic, etc. It is not that they prevent us from speaking, but discrediting your speech by rejecting intelligent dialogue is censorship. It is the same as with the General States [that Macron wanted]. The findings were ignored. Why did they do it, to give the feeling that people were heard? It is the Macron method. And before that of Hollande. The political world is determined about objectives, people are allowed to speak and they wait for the foam to go down. Is the Episcopal Conference of France going to compensate victims of sexual abuse? It is not compensation because it emanates from Justice . The victims asked us for a specific gesture especially for the cases they have prescribed. It is a symbolic gesture that shows that the Church has understood, that it recognizes the suffering of that person and that there is a collective responsibility of the Church. We all have to get involved in repairing the sin of one of our brothers. It is difficult to assess the suffering that such acts have been able to generate. That's why you have to listen to the victims. What to do besides? Pray for him? Of course. But if that is not enough, here is the gesture of objective recognition of the damage. The amount? Not set.The Synod of the Amazon has approved that married men can be ordained. A first step to end celibacy? It has no universal sense but particular. The Pope has wanted this Synod for the ecology and defense of indigenous peoples. This is more important than other considerations such as celibacy of priests. There are already married priests in the Catholic Church: the Greco-Catholics and the Maronites. Celibacy is something that exists in the apostolic tradition, although it was formalized in the eleventh century. It is celibacy for the Kingdom. Celibacy by itself would be ridiculous. I am celibate because I have given my life. If I had married, I would have given my life for my wife and my family. Celibacy is total delivery, being absolutely available. But when it has been necessary to integrate Anglican priests who were married in the Church, they have been welcomed. Our Protestant brothers tell us that the problem of vocations does not come from celibacy.

According to the criteria of The Trust Project

Know more

  • France
  • Paris

CineA feminist protest forces to cancel a preview in Paris of the new Polanski film

GetawayWine and all those less obvious reasons why you should visit Burgundy

InternacionalFrance goes out to protest against sexist violence